Eric Dixon

Edward Loper (1916-2011) was an African American self-taught painter, who lived his entire life in Wilmington, Delaware. (fig. 1) His vibrant palette and the juxtaposition of colors are what made him most famous in terms of style. Despite significant challenges, Loper decided to dedicate his life to art. He faced issues of racism and regional biases that made this decision more challenging.

Loper showed an aptitude for drawing at an early age, and his uncle's art collection inspired him to develop his artistic practice.  Loper's grandmother's employer gifted her a calendar every year that contained paintings by M.C. Wyatt, mainly of horses, and these paintings also inspired Loper to make his own creations. Although Loper was initially known for his athletic abilities at Howard High school, it was here that he started painting, and he later had the opportunity to enroll in formal art school. He claimed that the lack of formal art education in his high school days initially limited his art to only being considered to be 'hobby art.'

Loper hailed from a mixed neighborhood that included Italian, Polish, and Swedish people, as well as African Americans. Poverty was a common denominator between both white and Black residents, but the main difference was that the white population was usually employed by the factories located nearby. Black residents had a more difficulty time finding employment. Loper and his friends would go crabbing and skating and would often end up in fights and endure things being thrown at them. The police would also hunt and beat them, so Mr. Loper experienced firsthand systemic racism and prejudice. He was eventually employed in factory work.

Howard High School was proud of its education and instilled in its students the idea that to become successful, one had to become an educator. Loper noticed that his white coworkers at the factory were not educated and witnessed foolish shenanigans. He requested to work on a different side of the factory that had white-collar roles, but his bosses aggressively declined. Black people were not expected to have any type of ambition or aspiration during this time.

Loper wanted to learn about works of art and painting so he could pursue his ambition through an artistic career. At the age of twenty, he was hired by the Delaware Division of the Works Progress Administration, a federally funded work program for artists in the economic depression of the late 1930s and early 1940s. In the late 1930s, Loper received training with the Index of American Design, under the guidance of Jeanette Eckman and David Reyam.

Loper's job was to record American objects in decorative arts and design that had not yet been documented and were in danger of being lost. The Index job compensated Loper with $39.20 every two weeks and provided him with insight into the art world, which motivated him to attend the Barnes Foundation, where he was mentored by Violette DeMazia, a Parisian artist who had moved to Philadelphia in the early 1920s and had great knowledge and art world connections. Loper took what he learned from her and became devoted to passing it on to a later generation. Horace Pippin, whom he had met through colleagues, also influenced him to see art from a different perspective. While Loper watched Pippin paint, Pippin expressed that Mr. Loper should paint exactly what he sees. Mr. Loper engaged with this idea and said that if one painted what they saw, they were being true to themselves. This did not rule out painting individual perception, and perhaps explains why Loper's paintings were very colorful and vibrant, as he would put one color behind the previous one to create an expressive image of the world.

In 1937, Loper painted the city of Wilmington at night, from the inside of his house, looking out his kitchen window. The deserted, rain-slicked streets are illuminated by glowing streetlights, and the city of Wilmington looms in the distance, the lights of the Hotel du Pont and Hotel Darling rising into the dark clouds. There was a strong connection between Loper and the Delaware Art Museum, where he exhibited his first paintings in 1937 as part of the Annual Delaware Show. When Mr. Loper won an honorable mention, there were snobby remarks from the audience about his work, due to racism at the time. He also did start to receive some local and national recognition around this time. The painting "After a Shower" was purchased by the Museum, and more Loper paintings would be purchased by the Museum later on. At a later point, from 1950 until 1965, Loper also taught art classes at the Delaware Art Museum.

(fig. 1) Photograph of artist Edward L. Loper, Sr., c. 1947.

Loper began practicing his painting skills every day, and those skills did not go unnoticed. He moved to a different job, the Easel Project, that paid him an increase in pay of $43.80, and provided art supplies such as canvas and paints. The Easel project was Mr. Loper's first opportunity at full-time teaching, and he had the chance to attend an opening for the project in New York with Walter Pyle, Jr. This was a very upper-echelon event, and Mr. Loper had never attended anything of the sort before. Alain Locke had heard of the show and wrote a letter to Mr. Loper inviting him to meet him. Locke suggested Mr. Loper come to a party at Sugar Hill to meet Aaron Douglas. This was very exciting for Mr. Loper as he experienced firsthand the Harlem Renaissance.

The 1940s was a fruitful era with Loper gaining a lot of popularity nationally and locally. Prominent art galleries in Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. began representing his work, and his paintings were part of many important exhibitions and collections. They were also selling well. He began to teach even more after Saul Cohen, an Allied Kid executive, asked him to teach art classes to employees who expressed interest. This opportunity offered Loper his own studio space on the third floor of the factory. In 1944, Mr. Loper's wife tragically passed away. The paintings over the next few years after his loss would become dark, empty, and painful. One key work in Loper's oeuvre was "The Black Crucifixion." This was a religious piece set in Wilmington, along the Delaware River. His grandmother is set in the foreground, at the foot of the cross with her hands in prayer. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, Loper's subject matter shifted to buildings, such as houses in Claymont; neighborhood scenes; and domestic scenes, such as his daughter Jean reading the paper.

Copying someone else's style was something that Mr. Loper constantly avoided doing. Instead, he incorporated selected aspects of individual artists' techniques into his ideas. By the mid-1950s, he would often use bold dark lines juxtaposed with fragments of color. This gave his paintings a kaleidoscope effect that was uncommon. He found a style that was unique to him, which is what he aimed for when he first started his journey in the art world. He also traveled to and found new locations to paint in this period, such as in Canada (fig. 2) and New England.

(fig. 2) 34 St. Pierre, Quebec, by Edward L. Loper, Sr., oil on canvas (36" x 30"), 1978. Private collection, Austin, TX.

Throughout the next three decades, Loper emphasized color more and more as time progressed. He went so far as to seemingly abandon the use of shadows in favor of juxtaposing colors. His portraits of his friends and family around this time often contain a prismatic effect. In summary, Loper emphasized that:

“All I do is paint, and I enjoy painting. I guess the reason I enjoy it is because I don’t know where I’m going when I start, and I learned years ago that that is the way to paint… I only look for color and I paint the colors right next to each other. I only see the object once the picture is totally covered, then I figure out where I’m headed… As you work things happen and you become the hand that’s doing the work. The picture tells you what to do to it… In trying to make works of art you are just the vehicle for some other force that is making it happen.”

Loper believed that as you work, things happen, and you become the hand or the vehicle for doing the work. The picture tells you what to do, and so Loper believed the process of painting could dictate the outcome. His philosophy of painting was simple yet effective. He spent many years honing his craft by practicing and being around other artists, as well as continually emphasizing the importance of ongoing art education.

Mr. Loper will never be forgotten by the people of Delaware, nor his students. His legacy lives on, even to this day. His paintings captured the essence of the time and place in which he lived, as well as the energy and vibrancy of his personality. He persevered through challenges and overcame obstacles to become a celebrated artist, mentor, and advocate for the arts. Loper's life and work serve as a testament to the power of art to transform lives, build bridges across divides, and inspire new generations of artists.

References

“Artist Biography & Facts Edward Loper SR.” _Edward Loper, Sr. - Biography, https://www.askart.com/ artist/Edward_L_Loper_Sr/101559/Edward_L_Loper_Sr.aspx.

“Edward Loper: African American Painter” _YouTube, uploaded by Hagley Museum and Library, January 17, 2013, youtube.com/watch?v=E9yhGw66v2Q 

“The African American Artist: Edward L. Loper, Sr.” _Loper Art, https://www.loperart.com/.

“Edward L. Loper.” _Edward L Loper, https://www.nga.gov/collection/artistinfo.7782.html.

“The Vibrant World of Edward Loper, Sr.” _Delaware Historical Society, 6 Oct. 2022, https://dehistory.org/ the-vibrant-world-of-edward-loper-sr-wilmingtons-visionary-artist/. 

“Wilmington, DE.” _City News, 9 Oct. 2018, https://www.wilmingtonde.gov/Home/Components/News/News/ 4123/225. e

Barrish, Cris. “50 Years after Shunning Black Artists, Delaware Museum Atones for 'Institutional Racism'.” _WHYY, WHYY, 14 Oct. 2021, https://whyy.org/articles/50years-after-shunning-black-artists-delaware-artmuseum-looks-to-atone-for-itsinstitutional-racism/

Jacobs, Melissa. “The Story behind Edward Loper Sr.'s ‘Alapocas Run.’” _Main Line Today, 15 Apr. 2021, https://mainlinetoday.com/life-style/the-story-behind-edwardloper-alapocas-run/.

To cite: Dixon, Eric. “Delaware’s Greatest: Edward L Loper Sr.” Journal of Art & Theatre, vol. 2.1 (2023): 15-19.